Van Dorn battle flag

{{Short description|Confederate battle flag}}

File:The Van Dorn Flag.svg

The Flag of the Army of the West, also known as the Van Dorn battle flag, was a Confederate battle flag with a red field depicting a white crescent moon in the canton and thirteen white stars; and trimmed with gold cord. In February, 1862, Confederate general Earl Van Dorn ordered that all units under his command use this flag as their regimental colors.Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy, editors of Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books (1996), p.261. The 4th Missouri and 15th Arkansas infantry regiments carried this flag into battle, as well as some of Van Dorn's old units in the Army of Mississippi and East Louisiana.Echoes of Glory: Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy, pp.96.

The original flag was designed by Mrs. Constance Harrison and presented to Van Dorn during his time in Virginia in 1861.Van Dorn: The Life and Times of a Confederate General, pp.260–261. The thirteen stars in the Van Dorn battle flag reflect the thirteen states admitted to the Confederacy, including Kentucky and Missouri.